A star-crossed couple divided by war

'The film's purpose is to highlight the plight of the most vulnerable people in the Korean War - innocent civilians'. -Park Geon-yong

Kim Joo-hyeok, left, and Jeong Ryeo-won play a star-crossed couple in the new film "In Love and the War", which is set during the Korean War. Provided by Showbox Mediaplex

The tragedy of the Korean Peninsula has always been a tempting topic for cineasts. Looking at the list of the top 10 highest-grossing Korean films, two of them, "Taegukgi" (2004) and "Welcome to Dongmakgol" (2005), are based on the Korean War (1950-1953). Three other films, "Silmido" (2003), "JSA - Joint Security Area" (2000) and "Shiri" (1998), all have stories of modern Korea that deal with the legacy of the war.

The topic doesn't always entice audiences, though.

Recent films based on the war have had poor showings at the box office. The blockbuster "71-Into the Fire" (2010), featuring pan-Asian stars including kwon Sang-woo and Cha Seung-won, barely reached the break-even point. Other drama series based on the war such as "Road Number One" and "Jeonwoo" were panned by viewers for their lack of historic research.

Marking the 61st anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, however, another Korean film "In Love and the War" is hoping to build on the success of recent Korean War films.

The film is a story about townspeople living in a far corner of Korea who are visited by a group of North Korean soldiers and eventually side with the soldiers in order to survive.

The film's leading actors and director Park Geon-yong appeared at a film screening for the press on April 12 in central Seoul.

To save their lives, the people of Seokjeong pretend to give a group of North Korean soldiers a warm welcome to their village in the film "In Love and the War".

When asked to describe "In Love and the War", Park said that its "main purpose is to highlight the plight of the most vulnerable people in the Korean War - innocent civilians".

This is Park's second film after his impressive debut "Bronze Medalist" (2009), which was based on the true story of female high school outsiders who join a weight lifting club to escape poverty and fill their stomachs with the snacks given by the club.

"In Love and the War" is also based on a true story.

"The screenplay was written by Bae Se-yeong [who wrote the screenplay for "Bronze Medalist"] and is based on the life of her grandmother, who used to live in Pyeongtaek".

Park said that a group of soldiers from the North Korean People's Army stayed for a couple of days at the grandmother's home (because the grandmother's father was the village leader), and one young soldier, touched by the villagers' hospitality, said that he wanted to stay.

The movie follows this story line and adds another story about a star-crossed couple.

"This film is not 100 percent true, but it all began with this real episode and I wanted to use it to inspire viewers to think about what the war left behind", he said. "I also tried to give the tragic story a light-hearted touch".

In order to make the story more appealing, Park enlisted a diverse group of actors, including veteran Byeon Hee-bong ("The Host" 2006), who plays the village leader, Yoo Hae-jin ("Moss" 2010), and supporting actors Kim Sang-ho ("Moss" 2010) and Sin Jeong-geun ("Battlefield Heroes" 2011).

In addition to this experienced group, Kim Joo-hyeok and Jeong Ryeo-won, who are often praised for their acting abilities, play the leading roles.

Kim is an officer of the North Korean People's Army who visits a small town, where he meets Jeong, a smart young woman who is loved and trusted by the townspeople. The couple strives to stay together, despite being on different sides of the war.

Jeong broke into the entertainment scene as a member of the now-defunct girl group Chakra back in 2000 but later pursued a career in acting. She is one of a few successful singer-turned-actresses in the country, but said she struggled with this role.

"Most of my previous films and dramas were focused on two leads, me and my co-star, but this film was a particular challenge for me in the sense that it covers the experiences of many different characters in one story", Jeong said.

Meanwhile, Kim confessed to having had a difficult time learning the Pyongan Province dialect.

"At the beginning, I had a North Korean tutor, but I lost my tutor and had to learn it by myself", he said.

"In Love and the War" is slated to open on April 28 at theaters nationwide. Its original Korean title is "Sleeping with the Enemy".

By Sung So-young